There will be no BMW supercar or R8/SLS competitor, M shelves the idea stating the M3 and M5 are already supercars

Way to go BMW, another step downscale and another disappointing decision. We were excited when M said they were considering producing their own supercar. BMWNA M product manager Matt Russel stated in an interview that BMW ruled out the idea of a supercar to rival Audi's R8 or the SLS from Mercedes. He stated that the M3 and M5 are already supercars. No word on if he was drunk during the interview.

The M5 and M3 are not supercars or sports cars for that matter. They are very sporty sedans and the best in their class. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out the M5 is not an R8 or SLS rival. One can even look at the number of seats and the curb weight if they need help in coming to that conclusion. As if the fact they are based on regular mass produced sedan chassis' is not enough evidence in of itself. We are big fans of the M3 and M5 by the way, we just are not going to delude ourselves.

Matt Russel says there is no need for a high priced halo supercar. So BMW making the M1 Hommage was what, a cruel joke? They saw the appeal in it back then as they devoted the resources to produce a one off concept. What he is saying makes no sense. The M5 is not going to rival an R8 V10 in anything other than luggage capacity and the SLS Black Series will obliterate anything in the BMW lineup. The M3 and M5 being good cars does not somehow make it so a sports car is not necessary. With the way BMW has been diluting their product line and selling out their soul for profits they desperately need a real car to show they are still enthusiasts who believe in the Ultimate Driving Machine at heart.

And Matt, if you need help figuring out what a supercar/sports car is Audi and Mercedes are more than capable of showing you. Keep working on those electric cars while your competitors cater to a segment BMW can not enter because it has strayed too far from what it is supposed to be. ULTIMATE DRIVING MACHINE. Please repeat that as many times as necessary until it sinks in.

Originally Posted by Matt Russel

A lot of people come to me and ask, does M need a supercar? We’ve had the choice to do something like that that when we were planning the 1-Series M Coupe. Amongst its development, we all pondered: do we do a supercar as in a mid-engined wedge, or some super high-priced front-engined wedge? We’ve discussed these possibilities. But ultimately, we didn’t feel the need to make a very exclusive high-end supercar and we still don’t. I already firmly believe that we produce supercars, except that they’re two in one: an executive car with supercar performance. They are the essence of BMW M-Cars